Positional Neutralization - Linguistics - University of California ...

Chapter 5. Conclusions
5.1. Phonologization and Universal Grammar in phonological typology
I have argued throughout this study that typological regularities observed in
patterns of positional neutralization are best accounted for using the phonologization
approach presented here: Phonetics influences phonology by providing the inputs out of
which categorical patterns are created by phonologization. Once phonologized, however,
these patterns cease to be dependent on phonetic factors for their existence. Another class
of approaches to typological patterns involving the phonetic content of positional
neutralization systems seeks to derive the range of attested patterns from restrictions on
the possible forms of such patterns either stated directly in Universal Grammar or arising
fortuitously from the interaction of various independent statements within Universal
Grammar. In this type of approach the phonology itself restricts the contents of the
patterns it implements, making sure they are “grounded” or “natural” from the point of
view of phonetics. In the phonologization approach, phonology is natural because the
phonetic inputs from which most phonological regularities are derived are natural. The
phonetics, in other words, determines the shape of future phonological patterns according
to its own logic, one not involving abstract categories and structural positions. This view
of phonologization presented here has its roots in the listener-oriented approach to sound
change developed by Ohala (1981, 1993a), and Hyman’s (1977) work on
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